E.ON sees energy bill cuts next year if prices fall

LONDON (Reuters) - Energy group E.ON said on Thursday it hopes to cut bills for its UK customers in 2009 if wholesale gas and electricity prices carry on falling.

"If we continue to see falling wholesale electricity and gas prices, we'd hope to reduce customers' prices as soon as we are able next year," E.ON UK Chief Executive Paul Golby said in a statement.

"We're obviously very aware of the difficulties our customers are experiencing, especially considering the current economic problems, and we're monitoring wholesale prices closely in the hope of making this move."

E.ON, a German company, employs about 17,000 people in the UK and its British retail business has 5.5 million electricity and gas customers.

It said it was also introducing more measures to help customers struggling to pay their bills.

(Reporting by Philip Waller; Editing by David Cowell)